PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – Whenever the initials TPC precede the name of a golf course, there is a touch of magic to it. Great professional tournaments have been held on renowned TPC golf courses across the country.
The TPC Tampa Bay is no exception. For 20 years, the then-Senior PGA Tour made an annual stop at this course on the north side of Tampa. The greatest names in golf played there – Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Lee Trevino, Hale Irwin, Tom Watson.
Now, after six months of meticulous renovation and re-grassing, TPC Tampa Bay is getting new rave reviews. Under the ownership/management of Heritage Golf Group, the new mantra is “Return to Glory.”
For all of those reasons, TPC Tampa Bay is the subject of the December episode of the award-winning Traveling Golfer television show.
“This has been a very exciting project,” says Steve Ostroff, TPC Tampa Bay’s general manager. “The history of this property is amazing and now we are about to begin a new phase of making history. Since we re-opened in October, after being closed for almost six months, there is a new energy being shown by everyone at the property.”
“Closing a daily fee golf course for almost six months, without any revenue coming in, is a big decision for a company to make,” adds John Scappatura, vice president of operations for Heritage Golf Group. “But this property deserved the attention and the results have been eye-popping. This always has been a very pretty golf course and now the conditions are amazing.”
Although what was know as the GTE Classic is no longer played at TPC Tampa Bay, the Champions Tour still has ties to the course. The Champions Tour Qualifier was recently held there and the intent is to bring back the qualifier in upcoming years. It is a perfect venue for what is regarded as one of golf’s most difficult competitions.
“Although I covered a then-Senior PGA Tour event many years ago at TPC Tampa Bay, the first time I got to play the course was after the recent renovation was completed,” says Traveling Golfer Host Tony Leodora. “It is a course that provides thrilling shot options on every hole. And the natural beauty of the course is remarkable.”
In addition, viewers will see that there is a very nice, very convenient place to stay when visiting TPC Tampa Bay. The Hilton Garden Inn, located in Lutz, is just a few minutes down the road.
The December episode of the Traveling Golfer airs as a scheduled weekly feature show on NBC Sports and NBC Sports + throughout three markets in the Mid-Atlantic regions. NBC Sports airings are 10:30 a.m. on Sundays, 10 p.m. on Tuesdays and 11 a.m. on Thursdays. NBC Sports + airs the show at 8 p.m. Mondays and Fridays. In addition, the show airs nationally, two times every day, on the Fun Roads Network (funroads.tv/schedule) – in the San Francisco, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Salt Lake City, Wichita, Detroit, Chicago, Houston, Philadelphia, Washington State, North Dakota, Raleigh, Orlando, San Jose, Albany and Boise markets.
Additionally, national and international expansion has taken place via the new wingding™ Network, which reaches more than 275 million households. It is available on Roku (50 Million), Amazon Fire TV (55 Million), Apple TV (40 million), Chromecast (56 million) and iTunes (28 million).
The Traveling Golfer also airs a number of times throughout the month on “Rivertalk” on HTC-4 in Myrtle Beach.
The show also airs on the Traveling Golfer network of websites, including The Golf Director Network and The Myrtle Beach Golf Channel (see full list of sites on travelinggolfervideo.com).
As part of every Traveling Golfer show there is the feature, “Tech Talk”, hosted by Tour Edge Golf experts, such as President Dave Glod. With years of experience as a club maker, Glod presents an inside look at the research and development of high-quality golf equipment.
Responding to golfers’ never-ending demands to learn more about interesting golf courses and golf resorts across the country and around the world, well-traveled host Tony Leodora created the Traveling Golfer so he could take viewers on video trips to some of the most exciting golf locations. In each of the last eight years, the show has been honored by the International Network of Golf with one of its prestigious awards. In four of those years the Traveling Golfer was named the No. 1 Golf Television Show in America.
The Traveling Golfer is a series of monthly shows hosted by Leodora and his partner, Jeff Gilder. Both have many years of experience in televised golf. The featured destination stays on the website for one month, before being replaced by a new show. Alternate shows also air in a two-month rotation. All old shows are archived for continued viewing on the YouTube Network and on the home website, www.travelinggolfer.tv.
For more information about the Traveling Golfer, or to find out how a property can be featured on the show, call TL Golf Services at (610) 721-8186 , Zeus Digital Marketing at 843-272-1919 or e-mail Tony Leodora at tony.leodora@TL-golfservices.com or Jeff Gilder at jeff@wingding.tv.
